Woven tubular gaskets have been used as oven door gaskets and seals and typically have been made from the combination of an inner tubular member of knitted wire and an outer tubular member of braided fiberglass. This structure has proven to be durable in high temperature use and to provide a good seal. The inner knitted wire tubular member, sometimes called the bulb, provides a long-term resilient support for the fiberglass tubular member which provides the desired seal.
The method of attaching the knitted wire/braided fiberglass tubular gasket to ovens or oven doors has typically comprised clamping a portion of the exterior braided fiberglass sleeve with clamps or between two pieces of the oven or oven door. Examples of such oven gaskets and their attachment are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,219,962 to Reynolds et al.; 3,578,764 to Nunnally et al.; 3,812,316 to Milburn; 3,846,608 to Valles and 4,122,323 to Staats.
Other methods of attaching oven gaskets have included the use of "thumb clips" and frame clips. The thumb clip method involves placing a flat frame having holes in it inside the tubular gasket, aligning those holes with holes in the oven liner or oven door, then inserting the thumb clip through the hole in the oven, through the woven tubular members of the gasket and through the hole in the frame inside the gasket. The clip is curved such that once it is fully inserted, it exerts a spring action on the frame to hold the frame toward the oven liner or oven door surface. The use of frame clips involves placing spring clips in holes in a frame, sliding a length of the woven tubular gasket over the frame and clips, cutting an opening in the woven gasket at each clip location to expose the clip, then pressing the clip into an opening in the oven liner or oven door.
These means and methods of attaching knitted wire/braided fiberglass tubular gaskets have various problems associated with them, the number and degree of which depend on the method. These problems include difficulty in assembly, necessity of assembly from the back of the oven liner or oven door, necessity of disassembly for service or replacement of the gasket, excess labor required in assembly, high cost of materials and/or labor and requirement for temporary holding means to prevent the gasket from shifting on the frame before assembly on the oven.
Woven tubular gaskets have been used for a variety of uses in addition to oven seals. One of the common uses is for weather stripping. As with woven tubular gaskets used for oven seals, the gaskets in these other uses have likewise been attached to the various surfaces and substrates by clamping a portion of the gasket. Examples of such gaskets and their attachment are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,121,854 to Breer; 2,716,788 to Naramore; 2,767,444 to Spraragen; 2,882,082 and 2,924,471 to Poltorak et al.; and U.K. Patent Specification No. 690,906 of Van Tine.